The present invention relates to an annular knitting machine with at least one needle carrier with slide needles having controlled head and slide, with cam curves for controlling the needles for knitting, tucking or welting and with sinkers which cooperates with the slide needles and are controlled by a sinker cam curve.
Annular knitting machines with slide needles are known or proposed while by the exchange of a needle tongue by a controlled needle slide high needle displacement speeds can be obtained. In connection with this also a knitting machine is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,829 in which the slide of the slide needles, which cooperates with sinkers, is held not displaceably on a constant height. It has been however shown that with a not controlled needle slide, certain limitations in the displacement width of the cam parts must be taken into consideration, when a high operational safety in each control position of the knitting tool must be guaranteed. However it is desired to utilize the slide needles in a circular knitting machine with needle selecting device for a needle position of knitting, tucking or welting, the latter sometimes also called floating, non-knitting, running through or circular motion. With the known control of the slide needles in which, without consideration of the proposal in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,829 the needle slide and the remaining needle is especially controlled by a means of a special control curve, a needle selecting device must also have the path for the needle slide changing points, which for a needle exchange device with a three-way technique involves a considerable expense. Also during the utilization of the so-called three-way technique with several cam paths, in which special cam paths for knitting, tucking and welting are provided and the needles are used for control feet directed to the individual cam paths, it is necessary with the known control technique of slide needles to provide for each of the three needle cam paths a respective slide cam curve. Thereby, great cam heights and corresponding great needle lengths and needle slide lengths are produced, and higher needle masses must be moved